MxMIndia

Tag: R Balki

  • Britannia is aiming at getting 10-15 per cent of additional revenue from Snackuits tp contribute to its Rs480 crore business (as valued by AC Nielsen)

    Britannia introduces Snackuits for guilt-free snacking

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    There is no need to feel guilty about snacking any more, Britannia has launched a new product, 50-50 Snackuits keeping in line with its Taste Bhi, Health Bhi formula, this product aims at making snacking enjoyable experience and at the same time getting rid of any guilt that comes with it. Snackuits was launched in January and is already available in North, West and East. Now Britannia is gearing to launch the product in South.

     

    Talking about Snackuits, Shalini Degan, Category Director, Delight and Lifestyle, Britannia Industries said: “The truth is that people want to snack and then they feel guilty which leads them to snack some more, making them unhappy. We want our consumers to feel ‘Snack Happy’. The idea being that we know that people want to snack and we don’t want them to feel guilty about eating in between meals. We decided to make a product that satisfies some need of the consumers but fundamentally it removes guilt. So we have been telling people, please have this whenever you feel like and be snack happy.”

     

    The highlight of the product is that it is baked and there is no ostensible calorie intake. In fact, healthy snacks have become a fad of sorts with many players joining the bandwagon and talking about health and nutrition such as Lays Baked, Aliva and even Nestle’s Maggi.

     

    Not deterred by many players jumping into the health platform, Ms Degan said: “People like to follow Britannia. We took to this platform much before the rest. It’s nice to know that others are following us. For us it is simple, we are here to make sure that our consumers are emotionally satisfied, we are here to ensure that along with the taste, we ensure that nothing that we do makes one unhealthy. That is something we have been doing for many years now.”

     

    But the question is whether the consumers are convinced enough to pick up a packet of such ‘healthy’ baked products? Degan clarified: “It depends on what your reference point is. We are not saying we are as healthy as an apple but yet as far as snacks goes we have an innovation that is healthy as well as satisfies your taste buds!”

     

    Britannia is aiming at getting 10-15 per cent of additional revenue from Snackuits tp contribute to its Rs480 crore business (as valued by AC Nielsen). It’s looking at achieving this target in two years time. Snackuits will probably see more flavours being launched or a variation in shape or formats but that is once it establishes itself among the consumers. It is now available in three flavours – Swiss Cheese & Chilly, Chinese Hot & Sweet and Italiano Pizza in 30 gms pouch for on-the-go consumption and 50 gms box for in-home consumption.

     

    In the Rs7000 crore salty snack business which has been growing at a CAGR of 20 percent per annum, the success of Snackuits is not overestimated. And to make it a reality, Britannia has planned a 360-degree campaign to talk to its consumers about this new product.

     

    Created by Lowe Lintas, Britannia will soon launch four TVCs that features homemakers who enjoy snacking on Snackuits along with their witty take on everyday incidents of life. The ad is all about breaking the ‘bechari’ stereotypical image of a homemaker one sees in many ads being bogged down by worries of domestic life.

     

    On the campaign, R Balki, Chairman and CCO, Lowe Lintas, said: “Who says housewives are boring? If only we could put a camera on when they are with their friends…husbands will be shocked! It’s not just teens who hang around with snacks. 50-50 Snackuits is positioned as an accompaniment to the housewives adda!”

     

    Along with TVC, the other multi-media platform will explore the ‘naya concept hai ji’ tagline that sums up Snackuits aptly. There will be spots on radio and various on-ground activation which will try and find places where 50-50 Snackuits can interact and engage with housewives

     

  • The Lowe Lintas big boss freewheels with Anil Thakraney about Bs big and small, talent, and why he won't participate in the Abby

    Awards have no relevance to advtertising: Balki

     

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It’s always fun meeting the big boss of Lowe Lintas. Since we have worked together before and since Balki is always forthright and politically incorrect, one is assured of an exciting but meaningful exchange. Here is he, speaking his mind on various issues. Movies, advertising, the challenges facing the industry, the kind of people he’d like to hire, and yes, about his continuing allergy to advertising awards.

     

    You have to respect the man for the wonderful work he’s been doing on both, the small and the large screen. And more so for being that rare individual in the ad world who has the balls to stand up for something he believes in.

     

    Still around in advertising? Shouldn’t you be busy making big films with Big B?

    I am making a movie a day, it’s the same thing. An idea is an idea whether it’s three hours or thirty seconds. The day I stop tripping on getting the high when one gets an idea, that’s the day I will stop. In fact, I haven’t done a film in the last two years, I have been caught up with Lowe Lintas. I do have an idea for a film which I will work on towards the end of this year.

     

    And it will back to Bachchan, I suppose.

    Not back to, WITH Bachchan. I haven’t gone away from him.

     

    What’s with the Bachchan fetish?

    When you work with the ultimate guy it becomes difficult to work with somebody else. He’s phenomenal. Such hunger and greed for performing at the age of 70… it’s truly inspirational. I can keep on making films with him for the rest of my life.

     

    Are you a fan of Abhishek Bachchan too? His career isn’t going anywhere.

    Actually I found his performance in ‘Paa’ the best. It was the most difficult role. I think his problem is more the choice of films rather than the quality of his acting. He’s got his niche, he’s very good at certain things. He’s also a good friend.

     

    So that’s why you keep using him in the IDEA commercials, often when he’s not even needed.

    He’s a better friend of IDEA than he’s of mine. I didn’t choose him, IDEA chose Abhishek.

     

    What are the learnings from movies you’ve taken to advertising?

    The biggest thing that happens when you come back from cinema to advertising is that you are even more impatient. Because cinema takes so much time to execute, you want to make the ads even faster. That’s the reason I like making ads. You make them fast and you move on. There’s an idea a day, and that’s an addiction which is difficult to escape.

     

    Your wife’s directing ‘English Vinglish’. Are you the producer? And what’s it about?

    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has co-produced it with me, along with another investor. It’s about the insecurities of a middle class woman who doesn’t know English in today’s context. It’s about how she overcomes the fear of English. It’s a very relevant issue to a lot of people in this country. In India, it’s money, fame and (knowledge of) English which determine the class and quality of a person.

     

    Let’s cut to Lowe. Are you still as hands-on as ever?

    I am. There’s so much of work, yaar. Today, Arun (Iyer) and Amer (Jaleel) have taken on a hell of a lot, they handle 50 percent of the business. My travel has come down but my ideation hasn’t. So yes, I am still involved in major things, I know what’s happening. This is not a profession where internal structures and motivations of the agency can dictate solutions for a client. The client comes to an agency for a solution and we have to get it, by hook or by crook. Gone are the days when creative directors would sit on a revolving chair and give motivational advice to people on how to crack things.

     

    Piyush Pandey said to me the reason he isn’t making movies is because he’s not bored of advertising.

    It’s about the number of things you can do, it has nothing to do with being bored of advertising. So maybe some people are capable of doing a lot more and some people are not.

     

    Significant changes you’ve observed in the ad world in recent times.

    It’s the same, in so far as it’s still a problem/solution business. What I find is that the clients today are hungrier for more interesting solutions. I find that clients don’t want to waste an idea. And because of the complexities of the marketing issues, the problem articulation is no longer simple. You can no longer say this is small, this is big or that is cheap. It’s about understanding the complexities and simplifying them. And I find that fewer and fewer people are able to do this. Therefore far more is expected of a creative person today than it ever was. The creative person is now seen as the solutions provider. Planning is now playing a big role in the articulation of the problem. Planners are now working more for the clients than for the agency. This shift is something I don’t quite agree with, but it’s happening. This situation requires more discipline, rigour and understanding from a creative person than ever before.

     

    And I guess this impacts your hiring policies.

    It impacts that hugely. The three Cannes Gold winners don’t make sense any more. Today a lot of senior creative people have to grow within the current system. So you hire junior people who are clever and intelligent and then groom them into the system of understanding problems. It’s very dangerous hiring very senior people from the outside. We went through a phase in advertising where we said we are losing our respect as an industry. That’s changed. Today the clients respect the advertising agency for providing solutions.

     

    Both, Prasoon Joshi and Piyush Pandey told me that the industry is losing talent. There seems to be too much pressure from clients, they no longer pamper creative people. And opportunities have opened up for agency personnel in other industries.

    I don’t agree with this. I actually think there’s never been a better time to be in advertising. You are no longer respected for your whacky ideas, being a maverick won’t get you any special respect. The problem isn’t that the industry is losing talent, the problem is it’s not attracting talent. It’s damn difficult to find talent to address today’s problems. In fact, today there are a lot of people in marketing who want to join advertising. Where we are not attracting the right talent is at the junior level. We as an industry haven’t been able to articulate what is the kind of people we want.

     

    As an old-world creative director, do you find yourself struggling with the new media?

    No. Clients want you do virals in the new media, but it’s still film. The video will never die, though the medium for broadcasting it may have changed. The production methodologies may also have changed. But the idea is the key to it all.

     

    You are not even on Twitter and Facebook. How will you ever understand the digital world?

    The reason I am not on it is that I don’t want the world to know what the fuck I am doing. That’s a personal choice, it has nothing to do with the new media. In fact, today if I am on Facebook, I am a fuddy duddy cock.

     

    The problem, Balki, is that all you uncles are obsessed with the TV commercial.

    I approach a problem very simply. There is a solution, and there is an idea. And if the solution demands a certain kind of medium, you use that. Nobody knew how to make films before or how to make a digital programme. So it’s all about expression. And you go into that particular medium and do it. I didn’t know how to shoot a film earlier, so I went to the experts to do it for me. I don’t watch television at all, but that doesn’t mean I am fuddy duddy on television.

     

    Small shops are springing up. People like Aggie are doing very well. Does that worry you?

    It’s always been happening. What do you think Mohammed Khan and Ravi Gupta did? If Ogilvy and JWT don’t worry me, then why should they? They are all competition. In fact, the more the merrier, it means more people are doing better ads, and that’s fantastic for the ad industry.

     

    Why are so many creative directors branching out on their own?

    In some cases they believe their talent is far superior to what a large agency can harness. The other reason is there are only so many people who can grow to a point in an agency. So it could be the frustration of not being able to grow beyond a point. They have to start their own thing to be what they want to be. The third thing of course is money. Some people want to be richer than what they are.

     

    Words of wisdom for young creative people.

    I think if you like sport, you should come to advertising. There is a hurdle to be crossed every day, there is a goal to be scored, there is a wicket to be taken, there are problems that come your way. It is like a game. The moment you start taking it too seriously, it’s very difficult to function in this business. A lot of things don’t make sense out here.

     

    Shashi Sinha tells me he’s cleaned up the GoaFest judging process. All the scams have been dealt with. But you still won’t take part.

    I believe the advertising industry needs credible awards. But how do you judge advertising? You say, ‘Haha, this is so funny! Oh, what a technique in this one!’ And based on that you award some ads. And two months later the agency loses the business. So obviously it doesn’t work. What the fuck are we doing in advertising? We are supposed to solve a problem interestingly. You are supposed to state the problem and the judges are supposed to ask if that ad could have solved that problem. I judged at Cannes once, and I refused to judge after that. I’ll give you an example of what happens: Those Coke print ads, where someone is sleeping under the shadow of Coca Cola bottles, has been hailed as the greatest piece of creativity. And then you have those great TVCs of Coke with Aamir Khan, which the nation loved, but which they (the Cannes jury) didn’t understand! This kind of judging has no relevance to what the purpose of advertising is. Basically the award show is a game and you play it. So it’s not about cleaning it up, I don’t value what you award.

     

    And you also have a problem with your peers doing the judging.

    Some of them I respect and some I don’t.

     

    So what sort of jury will satisfy you?

    Having some respected marketers on the jury would help. And some very good advertising people. Right now they ask anybody who’s free to come and judge, and that’s not the way to do it. You can’t choose people just because you want representation from various agencies. Thing is, before I give you a piece of work to be evaluated, before I give you the right to say if I am good or bad, I need to be assured you are a person who’s capable of telling me that. We need to first judge the judges.

     

    What disappoints you about the ad world?

    What pains me is the amount we try to market the barometers which decide who’s good and who’s bad in the Indian industry. The Gunn report, the Asian awards, etc, they tom-tom the barometers rather than the advertising itself. And all this has absolutely no relevance to what we do here. It’s time we found a barometer or an evaluation process that tells India which is a good agency. A method through which clients can credibly choose agencies beyond just the surveys and the awards. And this lack of a proper barometer has led to personality driven agencies. This propels a lot of false media management. PR for advertising people happens because of this.

     

    Why don’t YOU work on that barometer?

    Piyush Pandey and I have had many whiskies discussing this, but we only walk away promising that we should drink some more, and that’s about it. (Laughs.)

     

    Click here to view all Goafest 2012 stories

     

  • Broadly speaking, there are two big problems: One, the award competitions are designed to honour the 'smart alecky' stuff rather than the effective stuff. And two, the suspicious quality of the judges.

    Anil Thakraney: How can things improve at ad awards?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    In my interview with Balki for MxMIndia, we discussed in detail his reluctance to take part in the industry award competitions. And he seems to make valid points. Broadly speaking, there are two big problems: One, the award competitions are designed to honour the ‘smart alecky’ stuff rather than the effective stuff. And two, the suspicious quality of the judges.

     

    I personally think both these issues can be dealt with if the organizers have the will to make things better, and more importantly, are ready to set their egos aside. These improvements will only make the awards a bit more worthy than they currently are.

     

    Let’s first examine the parameters for judging. Every entry must clearly spell out what the marketing problem was and how the campaign/advert helped solve it. This should be backed by credible facts and figures, and must carry comments/feedback from the concerned brand manager. Half the score must be reserved for this. As in, did the ad manage to meet the desired marketing objectives? The rest 50% of the marks must be awarded on how interestingly the message was communicated. This is where judges can be allowed to be subjective, and must reward only those ads which they believe achieved creative excellence. Though time consuming and tedious, this approach makes sense to me since advertising isn’t pure art, unlike poetry or painting. It’s commercial art. There is no use of pretty imagery if the brand went down the tube.

     

    Two, the judges. No current creative director must be allowed on the jury. This will eliminate the slimy agenda of some, who seize the opportunity to negate the chances of a rival’s ad winning. (By the way, this keeps happening all the time.) The jury must only consist of ace marketing directors who are reputed to have built brands or turned some around in their careers. And retired agency creative directors who are admired for the sparkling work they did during their days in advertising. The doyens who most industry professionals revere. Alyque Padamsee and Mohammed Khan come to mind immediately.

     

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJJOfSVViw[/youtube]

    In short, I think things can be changed if people WANT them to be changed. Balki has made important points. Hope the industry leaders are paying some attention.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Must watch. Not just for those ad industry leaders who are past their sell-by dates, but all oldies in any sphere of work. People who continue to hang around, unsure of when to move on. (In fact, I think one Sachin Tendulkar must watch it too.) It’s based on the farewell speech made by Leo Burnett in 1967 upon his retirement.

     

  • Axis bank launches its new campaign created by Lowe Lintas, 'Badhti ka naam Zindagi'

    Axis, banking on life’s growth story

    By A Correspondent

     

    Axis Bank has launched a new brand campaign, ‘Badhti ka naam zindagi’. Having established its credentials as a customer-centric bank, the new campaign aims to highlight the bank as a preferred partner in progress.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ar0AoIAVCs[/youtube]The campaign, designed by Lowe Lintas, features Axis Bank’s new brand philosophy of “success as a never-ending story”.

     

    Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Manisha Lath Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Axis Bank said, “Badhti ka naam zindagi or ‘progress on’ is an expression that encapsulates Axis Bank’s belief on the meaning and purpose of life that everyone wishes and works towards. We believe that success today is no longer about having accomplished a goal. It’s about setting newer goals and achieving each one of them. People today feel inspired about their own capabilities and that in turn triggers hope towards a better life.”

     

    R Balki, Chairman, Lowe Lintas, added, “It is fascinating to see how much movies have impacted our lives. When we fall in love there is background music playing in our heads. When we are angry, happy, sad, successful we have begun to see ourselves as actors in our own private film. This is a reality. So to express the philosophy of ‘Badhti ka naam zindagi’ it was interesting to visualize the real journey of life as if it were a film and use a director’s language to plot every step.”

     

    The repositioning of Axis Bank from ‘Aapka Solution’ to ‘Badhti ka naam zindagi’ is an important milestone in the journey of Axis Bank brand. The new campaign marks the evolution of Axis Bank brand from playing the role of a ‘problem solver’ in the customers life, to that of an ‘encouraging and enthusing partner’ by owning an attitude and belief that resonates with the target audience in everyday life.

     

    Axis Bank has also launched two applications, Meri Zindagi ka Safar and Meri Zindagi ki Picture, on its Facebook page. Meri Zindagi ka Safar is an application that lets users mark the places they have travelled to, thus enabling them to find out how much distance have they covered in these journeys of their life. The premise is that one is enriched by one’s experiences as one travels, and this helps people learn and grow and progress in their lives.

     

    Meri Zindagi ki Picture lets users compile their images in a showcase of their life’s story.

     

  • Brands are increasingly employing social messages to touch the heart-strings and attract attention

    Winning consumers, dil se

     

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    ‘Advertising’ generally relates to a 30-60 second commercial which is, in some way, a break from whatever has grabbed our attention on the TV. It is, at times, packed with humour or creativity which manages to engage audiences and pay attention to the product being endorsed. But these days, brands are thinking beyond short term goals such as increasing sales to a long term goal of maintaining goodwill for the brand.

     

    For a while now, a lot of advertisements are not just based on a self-centred motive to sell the product but the brands and creatives are becoming more and more altruistic and trying to engage the audiences by including them in the commercial.

     

    Whether it is Coca-Cola “spreading happiness” or Tata Tea asking the consumer to “Jaago Re”, almost every brand is trying to step ahead and be an element revolutionising society.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ECJrnqPcI[/youtube]

    R Balki, Chairman and CCO, Lowe Lintas India, said, “There needs to be a connect of the message with the product. Brands just cannot jump onto the bandwagon by saying something which isn’t connected with the product. Even before Tata Tea or Lead India, it was Lifebuoy that came up with ‘koi dar nahi’, which encouraged kids to walk out and clean the streets. Hence, there is a definite need of product association with the message. Even in the Tata Tea campaign, tea is always associated with awakening and, with a name like Tata attached to it, we took it a step ahead and correlated it with awakening against corrupt politicians and so on. The thought was based on being optimistic and not cynical.”

     

    As a matter of fact if we are to recall, such advertisements are also the ones that manage stay in our minds the longest. Be it ‘Jaago Re’ ‘Lead India’ ‘Hum Mein Hai Hero’, ‘Idea’ commercials or the latest Stayfree campaigns.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0M0EZ8T5J8[/youtube]

    “Every businessman today realises that just a transactional relationship with a client does not work these days, there is a very important need for emotional connect with the consumers, and brands like Coca Cola are realising the same. The trend has been there for a while, but its gaining momentum as every brand wants to be in the good books of the consumer. This is a worldwide trend where the society needs to know what exactly we are giving them back,” explained Prasoon Joshi.

     

    The problem lies when rather than being engaging, these commercials become preachy. The idea should be that it sermonises in such a creative way that it manages to engage a consumer, who considers an advertisement a break from a nail biting cricket/football match, or a soap opera that he /she is watching

     

    KV Sridhar, NCD, Leo Burnett, India, said, “More and more brand are realising these days that whatever we do is replicable. All the uniqueness and benefits get blurred after a while. Be it the uniqueness of an iPhone which is replicated by Chinese and Korean companies or the uniqueness of a brand communication. The other thing that marketers have understood is that ‘honesty’ and ‘selflessness’ are the keys to attract audiences. The Brand now tries to tell the audience that your ideas and my ideas are the same and this has become the solution to connect with the masses.”

     

    It won’t be wrong to say that Indian society gives utmost importance to values when compared to any other society. Hence, it helps a brand to come across as socially responsible.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DkS7wfPMdQ[/youtube]

    Rahul Kansal, CMO, Bennett, Coleman and Co, said: “When it comes to using a social message to promote one’s brand, it has to have certain connection with the product. Sometime back, we saw Aircel’s campaign to Save the Tigers. Despite being a good concept, the campaign did not leave a mark, as it didn’t really help the brand because the cause wasn’t really connected with the brand. On the other hand, if we talk about Tata Tea’s Jaago Re campaign, it is a beautiful example of laddering up by a brand since tea is always associated with awakening and here the brand communication took it a step further by making it an awakening of the society towards the corrupt system. The Coke ad is also an example of going ahead with a thought of a drink which is meant to quench thirst, stepping ahead and becoming a brand to spread happiness. Times ofIndia’s ‘Lead India’ and ‘TeachIndia’ are also an example of laddering up by using a social message.”

     

    One might wonder, is creativity becoming a follower rather than a creator? One can also speculate that creative thought is the slave of trend, where one does something exceptional and others follow, as that becomes what the audiences want. The fact that such campaigns manage to capture the consumers’ eye is evidence. This practice had been seen in the past as well, but more and more brands have been adopting the concept lately. Will it continue, and how well can creativity present it? The fact remains that any product endorsing itself on such messages, even if remotely, needs to be connected with the communication at a certain level.

     

  • Lintas Media Group chairman and CEO Lynn de Souza speaks her mind to Anil Thakraney. On media, gender equality, Goafest and why she, er, chooses dogs over men.

    With animals, what you see is what you get. With human beings, it’s more complicated


     

    Make no mistake about this: Lynn de Souza has a soft, warm, chilled out, happy exterior. But inside that resides a steely, tough, hard-edged professional. And she needed all that internal strength to survive and thrive in an industry notoriously dominated by what she calls the ‘Old Boys Club’. Lynn and I go a long way back, and this made our conversation frank, fun and, yes, highly argumentative. And we discussed many issues ranging from the dubious media research, the future of various media, her role in promoting gender equality, her formula for cleaning up the otherwise scandalous Goafest. And why she, er, chooses dogs over men.  

     

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    What’s your exact job portfolio at Lintas?

     

    I look after Lintas Media Group, and our subsidiaries Karishma Initiative, Aaren Initiative and Lin TV. LMG and Karishma are media agencies, Aaren Initiative is the largest OOH agency and Lin TV produces and distributes branded content. I am responsible for their overall financial and reputation, health, corporate governance, etc.

     

    Who do you report into?

     

    Michael Wall, the global CEO of Lowe Worldwide.

     

    Would you not like a global role now, having been there and done that in India?

     

    Have I been there and done that in India? I don’t think so. India’s potential story is not even the tip of the iceberg, and I haven’t even travelled the whole tip yet! I would love to have a global role that is based out of India, because this is where it’s all happening. I am fiercely proud of India and all things Indian and it’s our time to show the globe a thing or two. We don’t need to be sitting in Manhattan or London to do that, in fact, that could be counterproductive.

     

    Would it be correct to say you’ve reached the top of the Indian media peak?

     

    More like the bottom of the ocean, which has the most beautiful creatures and colours in the world. There are so many challenges ahead, so much to learn and so much to do. Our lives as consumers of media are being transformed so rapidly it’s really hard to keep pace, and this rate of change is even faster in an emerging market like ours. What we thought we knew yesterday is no longer relevant today, and what we think we know today will not be relevant tomorrow. The only people who can be on top of all of this are those who want to keep learning and keep evolving and keep travelling. There is no place for those who think they have arrived.

     

    What’s your goal for the next 10 years? What else would you like to achieve?

     

    Goals are for footballers and 20-year-olds. I don’t have any. I am just happy to be alive, to have a wonderful family, to work with some awesome people, to have a few good friends, and to do my little bit for my four legged friends. I take each day at a time, that’s all, and just try to do the best I can for that day, honestly. When I was young, I did have plans and was ambitious, too ambitious. My values have changed. It’s important to be good at what you do, but it’s also important not to be so good that you become bad for everything else around you.

     

    Key challenges ahead for the media buyers.

     

    Look beyond the colour of money to the colour of advertising and media content, and the kaleidoscope of consumer insights. Get away from the keyboard and play some real piano now and then. Visit places they have never been to, in reality, and not only on 3G. Meet and talk to people from all cultures including, especially including, our villages in the length and breadth of our country. Data will never be a substitute for reality and as long as we hold on to it for dear life, we will continue to reduce the value of the media, and the consumers they deliver, to the lowest common denominator – a CPRP.

     

    Are our creative people ready for the new media? And the clients?

     

    I think the younger ones are. I have been meeting a lot of independent digital agencies recently, and it’s always great fun to meet their founders – usually young creatives and techies who have left traditional agencies and employers to write their own dreams and ‘apps’! You would also be surprised how many clients are now taking to what you call ‘new’ media like fish to water. There are lot of questions and uncertainties and domain knowledge issues of course, but there is no dearth of desire to learn, because user technology has become so easy and enjoyable that once they use the digital spaces for themselves, they want to start using them for their brands.

     

    Was media unbundling a good thing? You pioneered it.

     

    It was the best thing to happen to the media function. Till then, media planners were languishing in the backrooms with their big red NRSs and estimates, always at the tail end of a presentation and often sent home without even presenting. Making the function profit seeking in its own right attracted the right kind of front-room talent, investment in tools and databases and the ability to then cope with a magnifying media world. Which industry has seen such an explosion of new offerings in such a short time – 600 TV channels, 70,000 print titles, 350 radio stations, and countless websites, all in 15 years or less? Unbundling has allowed us to specialize enough to cope with this growth, possibly even enable this growth.

     

    Predict the future of the print media in India. Newspapers are shutting down all over the world.

     

    You need to separate form from content. Newspapers abroad have digital versions that have a much larger following than the newsprint version. I read the NY Times every day because the reading experience is so enriching, it doesn’t matter that I don’t live in that city. As long as people have eyes, they will read, and as long as they read, there will be something delivering the news to them in a written form… in newsprint or cyberspace, or Kindles, how does it matter? About India, do you know that the highest read newspaper in the world is a Hindi daily? Regional language papers have trebled in readership in the last ten years. Tier two and three cities, where literacy is still not even 70% and growing, register the highest growth.

     

    And what about television?

     

    TV will be fully digitized very shortly and this means that the convergence of content across digital broadcast, web and telephony platforms is almost here. My agency is already producing content for television, re-purposed for mobile, and developing web apps to go along. As are many others. Consumers follow and lead content, so to track them and predict their behavior will be very important, our measurement systems will need to keep pace and adopt new technologies to capture, retrieve and analyze data.

     

    There are too many complaints about media research in India. What can be done to change things?

     

    There’s an overload of data in some aspects. We have different data sources for different media. And there’s no one single source available. That’s why many of the media agencies invest in their own studies. We have our own, for example. What worries me is that nobody’s looking at the future. So that we have future-ready research which is truly centered around the consumer. I told the IRS people that they need to think ahead. They have a 10-year-old way of collecting data and that has to change.

     

    Also TV viewership measurement.

     

    That’s why you can’t recommend media only on that basis. Which is why a lot of us have our own proprietary research which picks up a whole lot of other aspects. You cannot rely only on these data sources.

     

    That’s no solution. We need few but reliable research studies which the whole industry can follow.

     

    It’s not necessary for everything to be done at the industry level. You do things at an industry level when you want a currency. When you want a common parked research where both the buyer and the seller access it, so it becomes a currency. But if you want to do things that are genuinely good for the brand, you develop a whole lot of other proprietary studies, which many of us do.

     

    Lynn, frankly I am disappointed with you. You’ve spent a lifetime in the media industry, you’ve done it all, you’ve made your money. Isn’t it time for you to think of the industry and take on the challenge of reforming media research so that everyone benefits?

     

    If I did that, I wouldn’t say it to you. If I had any ambitions that I want to change something, I would quietly go about doing it my way. Three years ago, I didn’t want that there should be two research agencies, the IRS and the NRS. I was sitting on both the committees and I found both doing the same things, both saying the same things, so I said why can’t they be together. So quietly, at both meetings, I would suggest let’s have only one study. It took three years of doing this before the RSCI got formed. They’ve elected me as the first Chairman and we had our first meeting only last week. I am hoping we will change the readership agenda of this nation. Print is still the largest medium in India, and if the RSCI works out, we will make a big change. But I won’t thump my chest and say ‘Hum yeh kar rahe hain, hum woh kar rahe hain!’ (Laughs.)

     

    Not enough. You should take on media research full-time, and become the Queen B who made a huge difference.

     

    (Long pause.) I promise to give it a serious thought just to please you. (Laughs loudly.) But I will not commit to anything you wish me to commit to!

     

    You’ve cleaned up Goafest. There were no scandals this year. How did you do it?

     

    I am a great delegator. And I give a lot of respect to people I delegate to. So we had Shashi (Sinha) completely given the role of running the awards. I gave Sundar the role of running the conclave. I looked after the organizing and the venue. The most important thing I did for Goafest was to create an impression of being clean. I looked for a very clean looking place, I changed the venue itself. So it looked fresher, cleaner, greener. That had a very subtle effect. Then, I roped in the ASCI and the IAA with the responsibility agenda on the first one and the sustainability agenda on the second one. That gave the impression we are doing something good for the industry, and not just pampering creative egos.

     

    How did you handle the problem of self-voting?

     

    Shashi led that and he did a fantastic job. People were not allowed to self-vote. One or two individuals who were supposedly high on self-voting in the past were not included as judges this time.

    But Lintas still won’t take part in the awards…

     

    We do not have any confidence in the awards given by our peers. I was given a job to do, to chair Goafest. I was forced to do it, and I did it to the best of my ability. But that’s different. You know, I served at the Cannes media jury in 2009 and it was a fantastic experience. It was professionally run, it was technically advanced. I have served on the Indian juries as well, and it was nonsense, though am sure this time around they did a better job. I have seen the behaviour of our peers, the kind of lobbying and planning that goes on. As an agency we are not into chest-thumping. But when our agency wins awards because our clients have won, I value those because the consumers voted us.

     

    But now that you’ve cleaned up the place, will Balki take part next year?

     

    That you have to ask him. But it has to do with the value you place behind awards. Not everyone thinks awards are the best thing in life.

     

    Looks like you’ve fallen in line with Balki’s ideology.

     

    (Laughs.) On the contrary he may be falling in my line! We have our own independent reasons.

     

    What’s this about women’s rights you’ve been promoting?

     

    Internationally, diversity and inclusion is a big agenda. As a part of that agenda, two years back, IPG asked me to set up and lead the women’s leadership network. Initially I refused. I didn’t think there should be segregation of any kind. Later I studied the subject in detail, and I realized there’s a very powerful economic reason why you have to support women. There are three ‘Ws’ that will transform this century: Web, Weather and Women. And the power that women are exerting on this century is enormous. It’s said if women were empowered at Wall Street in 2009. things wouldn’t have been the way they were. In India we have 29 women heading banks and financial institutions. So there is an approach that women bring to the table that improves the productivity of a team. So it’s important to keep and retain women. At IPG, 30% of our staff are women, and when you come to the top, it’s just 11%.

     

    How do we change this inequality?

     

    We need hardcore practices in place. We can have a hiring quota set aside for women. I believe last month Hindustan Lever hired only women. We need to make everybody conscious we are not doing anything special for women. We have to make men and women understand that when you work together, you do well. For example, Coca Cola has something called the ‘Power of 3’. They believe that in any big team, the minute you have three women in the team, the group becomes far more productive. And if you have just one woman in the team, she gets eaten up.

     

    But Lynn, women falling out along the way is a social problem. Babies have to be looked after. How will you change that?

     

    You try and keep them engaged in the work orce. Some of the things we’ve done include giving them the option to work from home when they are pregnant. By giving them a desktop mirroring system at home. That’s literally like working in the office. There are lots of such ways in which you can keep women productive even if they have babies.

     

    Personally, I am quite cynical about this whole thing. You can’t change deeprooted beliefs and attitudes so simplistically.

     

    Anil, you are basically cynical about everything! Anil ‘bloody cynical’ Thakraney! (Laughs.)

     

    Why are all ad agencies headed by men?

     

    In the creative agencies there is a very strong old boy’s club. It’s very difficult for women to break through into that club. And if they don’t play by those rules, they will not break into it. Read my blog on this (link).

    Exactly why were the 3As of I guys giving you stress? Why didn’t they want you in?

     

    (Long pause.) Because I am clean.

     

     

    You found corrupt activities going on?

     

    (A longer pause this time.) No comment.

     

     

    One rival media chief you admire.

     

    Sam Balsara. He’s awesome. A hardcore desi boy with so much energy, he does so much.

     

     

    The best boss you’ve had.

     

    Ravi Gupta. And Steve Gatfield.

     

     

    One thing you learnt to do from Roda Mehta?

     

    Two things. Precision and integrity.

     

     

    One thing you learnt NOT to do from Roda.

     

    (Thinks.) Over-precision. Beyond a point you have to just let it go, you don’t need perfection.

     

     

    Roda didn’t just do the media job, she built the media planning and buying industry in India. None of you guys have been able to do that. She was a game changer.

     

    It’s not needed. You don’t need a crusader in today’s world. You need inventors and innovators. In today’s world we need enablers. Twenty years ago it was different, it was the licence era, there were strictures and rules. Today there’s far more freedom. No one wants a crusader. Everyone wants an enabler.

     

     

    Would it be correct to say you love dogs more than men?

     

    (Laughs.) Why only dogs, any animal. With animals, what you see is what you get. With human beings it’s more complicated.

     

     

    Is that the reason you are still single?

     

    No, it has nothing to do with that. I didn’t find anyone as intellectually stimulating as… my dog! (Laughs.) Are you happy to hear that?

     

     

    Have you watched Balki’s two films?

     

    I haven’t watched ‘Cheeni Kum’ yet. And Balki hasn’t forgiven me for that. But he sent me the ‘Paa’ DVD, and I really liked it. I didn’t watch the last five minutes of the film though. Because I wanted to make my own ending. I wanted the character to live. So I made him into a dog. (Laughs.)